The illegal copying of digitally distributable works is widespread, resulting in a loss of royalty revenue to authors and owners of the copyright in such works, such as music companies, as well as recording artists whose performances are contained in these works.
One attempt to overcome this problem has been to impose a levy on blank recording media, such as cassette tapes, recordable compact disks, and the like, but this levy has been unsuccessful as a substitute for lost royalties.
The advent of the World Wide Web of the Internet has created a convenient global distribution channel for digital works. The applicant has developed an integrated Web application that allows music companies and distributors to securely distribute and sell their music over the Web. Although the Web application will be described with particular reference to the distribution of musical recordings, the application can be used to achieve secure distribution of any type of digitally distributable work.
In order to use the Web application, a distributor of a musical work is required to register as an authorised user of the application and to download a “wrapping software” application that is used to encapsulate the musical work that the distributor wishes to distribute. The musical work, which the distributor has encapsulated in this way, is registered on the Web application, together with a prescribed cost of a licence to use the musical work, and the duration of a free trial period offered to a would-be purchaser of a licence to use the musical work.
A would be purchaser of a licence to use a musical work is required to register as an authorised purchaser on the Web application, whereupon the encapsulated musical work can be downloaded and used without payment for the duration of the free trial period as determined by the distributor. Upon expiry of the free trial period, the musical work is rendered unusable by the wrapping software. If the would-be purchaser purchases a licence to use the musical work at any time before the expiry of the fee trial against payment of the cost of the licence fee, the musical work is rendered permanently usable by the wrapping software. An administration facility associated with the Web application settles the transaction by paying to the distributor the licence fee less a transaction fee.
Digitally distributable works may be disseminated the World Wide Web with complete accuracy and without any degradation in quality. This feature, whilst desirable, is problematic for owners of the copyright in such works as the works may be subsequently reproduced, after an initial lawful distribution thereof, as many times as desired with no degradation in the quality of the works. Thus, the applicant's Web application described above will be unable to prevent subsequent unauthorised reproduction of such a work after an initial authorised distribution thereof.